Man strangles girlfriend with bra, police say

A combative relationship ended in deadly violence when an Orlando woman was strangled by her boyfriend, police said Tuesday -- less than three weeks after he completed his sentence for an earlier attack.

Lolitta L. Flores, 49, was found dead in the bedroom of her StudioParc condominium in the 4600 block of South Kirkman Road on Sunday, strangled with her own bra. She had been reported missing Thursday afternoon, and hadn't been seen since Feb.21. Her boyfriend Abdullah A. Khalig, 37, was arrested on one count of first-degree murder in her death. He was held in the Orange County Jail without bail.

Flores disappeared days after Khalig was released from jail on a battery charge for attacking her Dec. 4. He pleaded guilty Feb.11 and was sentenced to 70 days in Orange County Jail, with credit for 70 days he had spent behind bars awaiting the resolution of his case.

Khalig was put on domestic-violence probation when he pleaded guilty, which typically means an injunction bars a suspect from contacting the victim, said Carol Wick, chief executive officer of Harbor House of Central Florida, which helps domestic-violence victims.

Police discovered Flores' body after a tip from a friend of Khalig's Saturday night. Khalig told the friend he "took a girl's life," and that he and Flores were fighting when he killed her. He left her body in her apartment, the report states.

The friend dropped Khalig off at the Whiskey River bar on North Orange Blossom trail and called 911. A judge issued a search warrant for Flores' apartment, and early Sunday detectives found the woman lying naked, faceup at the foot of her bed. Her body had already started to decompose, the report states. Notes from worried friends were found on her door,

Khalig denied killing Flores and told police that the last time he saw her was Feb. 18, when he was cited with trespassing at her home during a domestic dispute, the report states.

In the Dec. 4 case Khalig and Flores were living together at the InTown Suites on Major Boulevard when he beat her because she refused to take him to dinner, an incident report states. When police arrived, she had bleeding scratches on her body and a black eye she said was from another attack.

At one point, Khalig turned toward her, holding a knife, she told police.

"She screamed 'stop,' but he wouldn't," a witness told police, according to the report. Khalig stabbed himself in the stomach during the incident.

Sentinel Staff Writer Bianca Prieto contributed to this report. Willoughby Mariano can be reached at wmariano@orlandosentinel.com at 407-420-5171.